Conduit seal assembly

Abstract

A conduit seal assembly for a wall opening in a wall includes a seal with an annular body. The annular body has a first end and a second opposed end, with the first end forming a conduit receiving end, and the second opposed end forming a seal insertion end. The seal insertion end has an outer diameter sized approximately equal to the wall opening in the wall into which the seal is to be inserted. The annular body further includes an outer lip between the conduit receiving end and the seal insertion end and additionally includes a tapered inner diameter that tapers to a smaller diameter at the seal insertion end so that when a conduit is inserted into the seal the conduit will cause the seal insertion end to expand to trap the seal in the wall at the wall opening.

1 . A fluid conduit seal assembly for a fluid conduit in a wall, the wall having a first sides, a second side, and a wall opening extend from the first side to the second side, said conduit seal assembly comprising:
 an elastic seal with a solid annular body, the solid annular body having a first end and a second opposed end, the first end forming a conduit receiving end, the second opposed end forming a seal insertion end for inserting into the wall opening from the first side of the wall, the seal insertion end having a continuous outer cylindrical surface with an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter having a diameter sized approximately equal to the wall opening in the wall into which the seal is to be inserted from the first side of the wall, and the annular body further including an outer lip extending radially outward from a medial portion of the annular body between the conduit receiving end and the seal insertion end to sealing engage the first side of the wall, the annular body including a tapered inner diameter that tapers to a smaller diameter at the seal insertion end so that when a fluid conduit is inserted into the elastic seal, after the elastic seal is fully inserted into the wall opening from the first side of the wall, the conduit will press against and form a seal with the tapered inner diameter of the elastic seal and will compress the continuous outer cylindrical surface into contact with the wall opening and will enlarge the insertion end and, further, cause a portion of the insertion end extending beyond the second side of the wall to form a flange to further trap the seal in the wall opening and thereby create a plurality of sealing surfaces against the first side and the second side of the wall and in the wall opening; and   a stop to prevent the conduit from being inserted into the seal beyond a predetermined depth in the seal.   
     
     
         2 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising an insert interposed between the seal and the conduit, and the insert forming the stop. 
     
     
         3 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the insert comprises an annular body with an outwardly extending lip, the outwardly extending lip forming an external stop, and said external stop bearing on said seal insertion end of said elastomeric seal. 
     
     
         4 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 3 , wherein the annular body includes an inner stop to prevent the conduit from extending beyond a predetermined depth into the insert. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the insert includes a conduit receiving end and an insert insertion end for inserting into the seal, with the insert insertion end having a lip that when full inserted into the seal forms a stop to trap the insert in the seal when the insert and conduit are fully inserted into the seal. 
     
     
         7 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the seal is formed from a rubber. 
     
     
         8 . The conduit seal assembly according  claim 1 , wherein the insert is formed from plastic or another rigid material, including metal. 
     
     
         9 . A method of sealing a fluid conduit in a wall opening in a wall using the conduit seal assembly of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising forming an insert with an outer stop, and inserting the conduit into the insert and then inserting both the insert and the conduit into the seal, with the outer stop preventing the insert and conduit from being inserted into the seal beyond a predetermined depth in the seal. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , the method further including forming the insert with an inner stop, with the step of inserting the conduit includes inserting the conduit into the insert up to the inner stop and then inserting both the insert and the conduit into the seal, with the inner stop preventing the conduit from being inserted into the insert beyond a predetermined depth in the insert, and the outer stop preventing the insert and conduit from being inserted into the seal beyond a predetermined depth in the seal. 
     
     
         12 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer lip comprises an annular outer lip. 
     
     
         13 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapered inner diameter starts at or starts adjacent the outer lip but on the inside of the annular body. 
     
     
         14 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the tapered inner diameter starts at a location between the conduit receiving end and the outer lip but on the inside of the annular body and tapers to the seal insertion end of the annular body. 
     
     
         15 . The conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the seal insertion end includes a distal outer diameter that is sized to fill the wall opening but not exceed the wall opening diameter until the insert is inserted into the seal. 
     
     
         16 . An insert for use with a fluid conduit seal assembly according to  claim 1 , said insert comprising:
 an annular body, the annular body having an insertion axis and having an external stop, an internal stop, a first end, and a second opposed end spaced from the first end along the insertion axis, the first end forming a conduit receiving end to receive a conduit therein up to the internal stop, the second opposed end forming an insertion end to insert into the conduit insertion end of the seal up to the external stop, the insertion end having a radially outwardly extending lip to expand the seal outwardly when the insert is inserted into the seal after the seal has been inserted into the wall opening to thereby trap the seal in the wall opening.   
     
     
         17 . The insert according to  claim 16 , wherein the annular body has a length to locate the inner stop above the seal wherein a conduit inserted into the insert does not extend into the wall opening. 
     
     
         18 . The insert according to  claim 17 , wherein the inner stop is located along the insertion axis before the external stop to prevent the conduit from extending into the insert beyond the external stop. 
     
     
         19 . The insert according to  claim 17 , wherein the annular body has a uniform inner diameter between the conduit receiving end and the inner stop.